Chettinad Thenkuzhal
Who doesn't love a fried, crispy snack? A very popular Chettinad snack, Thenkuzhal is served at most festivities and is commonly paired with tea or coffee.
Servings: 30 pieces
Ingredients
- 3 cups rice flour
- 1 cup whole urad dhal
- 2 cups water (adjust as needed for dough)
- 1 tbsp butter
- salt to taste
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Add urad dhal to a frying pan.
- Dry roast on medium low flame for 5 minutes or until the dhal becomes aromatic. Remove from flame and cool once done.
- Use a blender to blend the dhal into a fine powder.
- Next, using a sifter, sieve the flour. Grind the remaining lumps again and continue until all the dhal has been sieved.
- Add 1 cup of the ground urad dhal and rice flour to a mixing bowl.
- Now, add butter and salt. Use water as needed to form a soft dough.
- Roll the dough into small elongated balls and cover with a lid.
- Then, heat oil in a frying pan. Once hot, assemble the thenkuzhal press with the elongated dough and press the thenkuzhal in to the hot oil in a circular motion.
- To check if the oil is hot enough, add a small piece of the dough into the frying pan. If the dough gradually rises to the top of the pan, the oil is ready.
- Let this cook and carefully turn over to cook on the other side. Bubbles may form while cooking.
- Once the bubbles have stopped forming, remove the thenkuzhal from the oil.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the thenkuzhal to a plate lined with paper towels.
- Repeat this process using the rest of the dough.
- Allow for the thenkuzhal to cool and store in an airtight container. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you are not comfortable directly pressing the thenkuzhal in to the hot oil, you can make the thenkuzhal on a cutting board or on the back of the slotted spoon. Then, carefully transfer the thenkuzhal from the cutting board or spoon into the hot oil to cook.